Harry Potter and the Deathly Ninjas
by GrammarGeek
Summary: This is a Harry Potter story with a bunch of Naruto characters.  It has some DH spoilers, and it's set during DH.  I wrote it with my Narutoobsessed friend, XeroTom.  Reviews are much appreciated!  Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

"'…I ask a third favor, now, of my old friend. A time is upon us now that we ask for help from our secluded friends, may your photosynthesizing be everlasting and your comrades never fall!' What does this mean, Kingsley?" the Minister of Magic implored, gazing deeply into the tall man's eyes, looking for some sign of recognition.

"I don't know," Kingsley replied smoothly.

"What about this part here…" Scrimgeour's finger traced the page looking for the passage on the will he had been earlier reading. "Ah, 'I ask a _third_ favor' my counting shows that so far, Dumbledore has only asked one other favor. Have I miscalculated, or had the old geezer simply gone mad when he'd written it?"

"I don't know, sir," Kingsley said, slightly irritated at the Minister's questioning.

"Well then, I suppose I must give this to you now, as it says…" Scrimgeour reluctantly handed the will to Kingsley.

"I bid you good day, sir," said Kingsley, tucking the scroll in his pocket and striding out the door. As soon as he was out of earshot, he conjured up a patronus to send message that an impromptu meeting was starting at the headquarters and everyone should gather there as quickly as possible.

Meeting

Kinsley stood at the head of the table in Grimmauld Place and surveyed the order members around them as they soaked in the details from the excerpt of Dumbledore's will that he just shared with them.

"The Minister's right, there were clearly only two favors mentioned. That puts a great emphasis on the aspect of three things..." Moody said, gruffly.

"Why does that photosynceration thing-y sound familiar?" asked Ron. After much pleading and begging, Ron, Harry, and Hermione had finally been admitted into the order.

"Because," began Hermione, irritated, "you've heard it countless times in Herbology. Photosynthesis is the process plants go through to make their own food, so" she now turned to face the group, "Dumbledore was talking about plants or some group of people associated with plants."

The group nodded and slipped back into a quiet contemplation of the will's true meaning.

"He's talking about leaves," Remus's voice broke the thick silence "leaves or something to do with them. See, he says, 'may your comrades never fall'. Leaves fall annually, and they are the main photosynthesizing members of a tree."

"Yeah…" said Harry, "but where does the three reference fit in? When was the last time you've heard of a tree having three leaves?"

A mumbling of agreement came from the Order.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione, she brought a hand to her lips "Hidden leaf…?" She ran out of the room and up the stairs. The order members started muttering amongst themselves. Hidden leaf? What was that supposed to mean?

"Hermione!" Kingsley called up the stairs, "What hap-" his question was stopped as a mass of curly hair bustled past him and slammed a book on the table.

"Of course, Hermione consults a book for help," muttered Ron to a sniggering Harry.

Hermione opened the book and rifled through its pages, looking for the one she wanted.

"Ah!" She said excitedly, "'The greatest of all Shinobi, the Kages, are seen as leaders in the hidden villages. The _Third_ Hokage-sama of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…' See? This is it! We call on a favor of the Hokage-sama!"

Murmuring swept the room as the assembled members discussed the latest information.

"What kind of favor?" Tonks asked. "What exactly does Dumbledore want this Hokage guy to help us with?"

"A mission. We send a request for a mission, so the ninjas can help us fight the battle and… other things," Hermione said, exchanging a glance with Harry and Ron. They knew what she meant – Horcruxes.

The order debated on whether they should act upon this request, and if so, who would go. It was decided that Kingsley would make the mission request and so the order meeting adjourned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Xero-Tom here.**

**This is chapter two of the Naruto/Harry Potter crossover. Not sure what else to say, so enjoy.**

**All characters and locations from Naruto belong to Kishimoto**

**All characters and locations from Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling**

**Mysterious figures might belong to me.**

"I hate this!" yelled a very angry shinobi. "Why do we have to come all the way out to a set of bathrooms just to meet a potential client?"

"Calm down Kotetsu," replied his calm partner. "If we had every potential client come to the village then we wouldn't be able to call it a hidden village, now would we."

"Ah, good point Izumo, but…" just as Kotetsu was about to continue when a loud BANG cut him off and suddenly a large man stood in front of the two ninja.

The figure in front of them was a towering black man in a long robe. His very presence had a certain commanding feel to it, though it was still nothing like the one they were taking orders from. Izumo and Kotetsu were told that they would meet a strange client but had no idea he would just appear before them.

"I must see the Hokage immde…. The Village Hidden in the Leaves is a bathroom complex?" A huge, very perplexed wizard stood before the shinobi. "What is the meaning of this? Where is the ninja village I was instructed to go to? These are the exact coordinates I was given."

Izumo and Kotetsu were very nervous having now heard the man's loud booming voice. The man began staring down at the two ninja standing before him. Finally Izumo steeped forward to address the man.

Izumo looked up at the robed man before him as Kotetsu watched, ready to jump in if things turned sour. "I take it you're the client with the mission for the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village; if so, follow us."

The two ninja began moving quickly toward the village and glanced back every now and again to see if their client was still following them.

"Izumo, how do we know if this is really the client?" Kotetsu asked.

"Easy, we see if what the Hokage said about him is true." Izumo replied.

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Kingsley landed in and open field and looked around. He was near a lake with a large cropping of trees around most of the other area, a gentle breeze washed over him and he closed his eyes to take in a feel of his surroundings. He could feel a presence, no, two, he could feel that he was being watched. His years of being an auror really paid off, he could feel every move they made but couldn't pin down their exact location.

"Is this really fair? You obviously have a home field advantage," said Kingsley to the air, hoping to get a response. No luck. _I guess I shouldn't underestimate them just because they look incompetent_ he thought.

There was a certain tension in the air, neither side knew what to expect from the other. It was a stand-off; no one wanted to make the first move it this game.

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"_So, how will we know who this mysterious client is Hokage-sama?" questioned Izumo._

"_Easy, he won't use chakra. His abilities will rely on a different medium than hand seals"_

"_You want us just to ask him to show his power then?" asked a skeptical Kotetsu._

"_I want you to test him. Now…GO!!!"_

--------------

_It would have been a lot easier if the Hokage could have told us his abilities. This is another test I know it, _thought the irritated Izumo.

Izumo looked out from his hiding spot only to see that his friend had grown impatient and had gone to face the enemy head on. _BAKA, _he screamed in his mind.

Kotetsu stood there and saw his partner jump down from the tree behind the enemy. He had been working with Izumo for a long time so they were usually able to tell what the other was thinking. Both nodded to each other and quickly reached for their kunai. Weapon in hand, it was time to find out what this client could do.

Kingsley watched as the ninja in front of him reached for a weapon. He thought of attacking but knew that the other ninja was right behind him, so if he moved the other was likely to attack. He tried carefully to calculate the best time to launch a spell but was at a serious disadvantage. He was in a strange place and had no idea what these ninja were capable of. Any of the books that had information on ninja (like the one Hermione checked) had little to no information about their power. "I guess this is a good chance to find out just what ninja are capable of," he said hoping to get some kind of reaction now. He got just what he wanted.

I kunai flew from the right, in a mere instant Izumo, who had been behind him, was at his right hoping to throw off his concentration on Kotetsu. He succeeded but at the same time gave Kingsley a chance to get his wand out as he jumped to the left.

Kingsley turned his attention to Izumo now, he knew he was going to have a difficult fight and had to level the playing field. His hand had the same speed of movement as Izumo's had, when he threw the kunai, as he yelled "Stupefy," stunning Izumo in his place.

Kotetsu stood there for a moment before realizing if he didn't keep moving he would end up the same way. The two ran parallel for a few meters before Kotetsu went right toward him with the kunai knife in hand. "Expelliarmus," yelled Kingsley as the kunai flew out of Kotetsu's hand. "Now then," Kingsley began, "time to end this." Kotetsu was putting space between them as Kingsley pointed his wand at him and yelled "stupefy." I direct hit.

Kingsley watched his hit spell dead on, which was why he was even more surprised when he felt the presence of someone behind him and felt a kunai on his throat. He had no idea what was happening, as the body that the spell hit turned into a log after a puff of smoke. "You put up a good fight old man, but it looks like we won," said Kotetsu confidently.

"Look again," said Izumo as he shook off the spell that hit him. "It's a draw."

Sure enough, Kingsley's want was right on Kotetsu's stomach. He could have taken Kotetsu with him.

"It looks like you really are our client. Sorry for our rudeness before, but I hope you can understand why we had to be sure," Izumo said as he and Kotetsu bowed in apology to Kingsley. "I'm Izumo Kamizuki, at your service."

"And I'm Kotetsu Hagane, we are both chunin that serve under the Hokage, leader of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, but since you are employing us I'm sure you already knew that." Kotetsu said.

"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, but if you could I'm in quite a hurry and must see your leader at once. Please lead me there immediately," Kingsley told them.

"Of course," Izumo told him. "Follow us."

------------------------------------

The day had begun just like any other. The sun rose over the beautiful landscape of Konoha slowly revealing each aspect of the village as the sun light hit it. The magnificent mountain with the four hokage faces moving down to the hokage mansion. One person stood there and watched all of this from the roof of the mansion. She loved the sight of this so much that it would usually cause her to fall asleep during the day since she gets up so early to watch it every day.

It just so happened that as she descended from the roof Izumo and Kotetsu were returning with their new found "friend". As luck would have it, both parties met in the hall outside the office.

"Ah," began Izumo, "there you are Hoka…."

Izumo was cut off by Kingsley, who, in his haste and desire to help his friends and the entire wizarding world, had unfortunately forgotten his manners.

"You must be the Hokage's secretary; I need you to take me to see him at once." Kingsley said.

Now, the young-looking woman before him was just about to correct him, seeing as what a good mood she was in today, when Kingsley had to open his mouth again.

"I've been told how old the current hokage is and I don't want to bother…" Kingsley began, but he never got to finish. If he had it might have made more sense that he was talking about the third Hokage, but he didn't get that chance.

He felt what must have the night bus him in the chest. As he flew through the air and before he blacked out, he noticed something. He noticed how beautiful the mountain with the faces carved in it was. He also noticed the fifth face on the mountain that was about half done, it strangely resembled the Hokage's secretary that he had just been speaking to.

Kingsley never hit the ground; everything just went black.

--------------------------------------

He could hear the hustling about of many people as well as a steady beeping. His eyes slowing opened to reveal the two ninja who led him here, as well as two women and a pig.

"Good to see you woke up," Kotetsu said to him.

Kingsley looked over to see the black haired woman holding the pig nudge the blond haired woman.

The blond haired woman stepped forward and began to speak, "I apologize for any mishaps you might have had when reaching the land of fire."

Kingsley was just about to reply when he remembered the pain he had felt in his chest, so he let her continue.

"I am Tsunade, fifth Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves." She told him with a good deal of authority.

"I was expecting the third Hokage. An influential member of our group seemed to have a good relation with him." Kingsley told her.

"Sarutobi-sensei did have quite a few interesting friends that none of us were quite sure about," said Tusnade. "But I'm sorry to say that the third is no longer with us, he died defending this village about a year ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Kingsley felt bad their leader also lost his life to protect many as well, but you could hear the disappointment in his voice. "I'll be going as soon as I get out of here then."

"Well, you came all this way." Tsunade told him as she put her hand on his shoulder making sure he didn't leave the bed. "If you have a need for some ninja, I'm sure we can help you. I think we can even give you a discount to make up for all the misfortunes you've had since coming to the land of fire."

Kingsley perked up, "so you'll help then?"

"Of course," Tsunade responded, "as long as you don't want us to fight a war or something. So, what do you need?"

Kingsley thought quickly and said, "We just need as many ninja you can spare to help guard a school."

"Sounds like a B or C rank mission," said Tsunade as she looked Kingsley over after seeing how he reacted when she said war. "I think we can spare at least ten shinobi for you; Shizune go get our two newest chunin. They could use this opportunity to train."

"Right away," Shizune said as she ran out with the pig still in her arms.

"I thought you said ten," Kingsley inquired.

"You'll have eight genin as well as them, don't worry" Tsunade assured him, "you just get ready to take them where you need."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Man, this is really troublesome," said the boy with black hair in a ponytail.

"We're here for a mission. If you didn't want this life, you shouldn't have been a shinobi," said the white eyed boy.

"Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuuga," Tsunade addressed the two boys. "You two and eight genin will accompany Kingsley Shacklebolt back to the school grounds you are to help guard. The following genin will be on your teams: Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, Rock Lee, Tenten, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and finally Shino Aburame who will also be given the rank as a team leader like you two."

"Is that all Hokage-sama?" Neji asked.

"No, there is one more thing," Tsunade responded. "The people you will meet are not ninja; they will have their own way of fighting. Once all of the other team members are here Izumo and Kotetsu will tell you about their fight against Kinsley. Hopefully you will be able to gather something from it. I will expect all of you to be alert and paying attention to what goes on around you. I wouldn't trust anyone too easily; I believe our employer is hiding something from us. Other than that, listen to him or whoever he instructs you to. You're dismissed until your full team meeting."

"Alright, when do we leave the village?" asked Shikamaru.

"In four hours. Now go get ready." Tsunade told them as they left the room. "Good luck."

--------------------------------------------------------

"Is this everyone?" Kingsley asked.

"Yes, all ten of us are here and ready to go," Neji told him.

"All right, everyone hold on to this," Kingsley told them.

Everyone did as they were told and as Kingsley reached into his pocket and pulled out a glowing object everyone touched it. Kingsley touched the object with his wand and said "portus", and they felt themselves being pulled upward.

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Elsewhere in the land of fire in a small town, three cloaked figures moved to the end of the street. It was getting closer to nightfall so it was impossible to see their faces with their hoods up. The three figures were each a different size with the shortest trailing behind the middle sized who was behind the tallest.

As they reached the end of the street the sun had set. The shortest figure hung back near a bulletin board while the middle and tallest figure moved forward. The tallest figure turned to talk to the middle figure.

"I'm going to go ahead and see what information I can collect; you two will continue with the current plan." The tallest figure said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"You heard him, let's go….." The middle figure said as he turned around to the smallest one but stopped when he realized he was gone.

He walked over to look at the bulletin board the smallest figure was looking at. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the thumb tack that was holding a small piece of ripped paper.

The last figure disappeared in a puff of smoke.

**Well, there's chapter two. This was my first time submitting something, so I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Congrats to Xero-Tom! Reviews are always very loved! – GrammarGeek**

**Oh, in case some of you are confused out of your minds because we already put this chapter up, sorry. The breaks in between didn't show up, so I had to delete the chapter and fix them. Sorry and thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chappie! I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Tension sliced like a knife through the bright orange room. Hermione gazed out the window, looking for something to say. Ron stared at Harry, trying to break down his barriers. Harry shifted uncomfortably under his friend's harsh stare.

A hot breeze wafted through the silent room. Hermione wiped the sweat forming at her brow.

Distant sound from the other rooms could be heard, but none was uttered from the three seated within the room's sweltering walls.

"…Harry…" Hermione said tentatively.

Harry, who was unconsciously picking at a thread on Ron's bed, looked up at her warily.

"We… we could help, you know," she said carefully, quickly dodging his glance.

"Yeah, mate. You don't have to do this alone. We've been through thick and thin with you. Why do you think we would back down now?" Ron said.

"It's my job. He's mine to fight," Harry said stiffly.

"Harry, you're being irrational. We all want Voldemort dead," Hermione admonished.

"Yeah," said Ron, "we want to help."

"He killed my parents," silence swallowed the room as Hermione and Ron wracked their brains for something to say.

"You're not the only one. Have you read the news lately? He's taking out more by the day. I know it's hard, and you're the chosen one and all, but Harry, let us help you find the hor—" Ron stopped abruptly, looking up at his younger sister standing in the doorway.

"Mum says dinner's ready," she said, looking at Ron suspiciously before staring at Harry pointedly.

"We'll be down in a minute," Ron said, watching with interest the silent conversation Ginny and Harry were having.

Hermione gave Ginny a sympathetic glance and pulled Ron out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Listen, Ginny…" said Harry.

Ginny raised her eyebrows at him, signaling for him to go on although she was frowning. There was nothing new about this conversation. It was the same thing every time.

"I've already told you. We shouldn't be together. If Voldemort ever –"he broke off, pain etched across his face, "—if he knew you were close to me, you'd be his first target, I—"

"I don't care," Ginny said, "I can take care of myself. I want you, Harry." Ginny slowly walked over to Harry. She reached down slowly to grab his hand. She leaned in closer until their lips were only millimeters apart.

"Ginny. No. I—I can't," Harry stammered, turning his head quickly so her lips hit his cheek. He turned from her and walked quickly out of the room, heading for the kitchen.

Ginny bowed her head for a second and bit her knuckle. A single tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and gained her composure before following Harry down the stairs for dinner.

--------------------------------------------

A loud, echoing thud resounded throughout the Great Hall as 10 ninja toppled over each other after their rough arrival at Hogwarts.

Neji pulled his head out of the mass of entangled limbs at the sound of the steady click-clacking of shoes.

"Good, you're here." The Ninja looked up at a stern witch, her hair drawn in a tight bun and lips set in a straight line. She looked over them suspiciously and frowned at the many Kunai knives and Shirukens the ninja had on them. _They fight with _knives_? Isn't that the kind of things earlier civilizations used? Haven't they got anything more advanced?_

"I'm hungry," grumbled Chouji.

"Where are we?" Shikamaru asked bluntly.

"This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My name is Professor McGonagall, and I'm Headmistress here. I believe you all have been sent here to help guard the school. I'll let you settle in and have some lunch, and then I'll take you on a tour of the castle." She snapped her fingers, and a house elf appeared, "Lunch for our guests, if you would," she said. "I'm afraid I have business to attend to. I'll be back once you finish to take you on your tour. If you need anything, our house elves will be happy to oblige." With a curt nod, she turned to leave, the sound of her heels smacking the ground as she left the dumbstruck group.

"Food!" cried Chouji as he jumped up and dug into some of the food that appeared on one of the tables.

The rest of the ninja shrugged and, murmuring to one another, joined Chouji at the table.

The ninja ate mostly in silence, sharing only polite small talk and requests for dishes just out of reach. Finally, as they were finishing up (well, everyone but Chouji who was still going strong), Professor McGonagall came back.

"That was very good, thanks," Sakura said, nodding to the house elf.

Minerva gave her a small smile and said, "If you are all finished, I will now take you on a tour of the castle. You are now in the Great Hall. This is where we eat all of our meals."

"How's that work?" asked Shikamaru, pointing at the bright blue, cloudless sky above him.

"The enchanted ceiling? It's a simple charm set on the ceiling to make it look like the sky outside," answered McGonagall.

"It's beautiful," said Ino, gaping at the iridescent blue painting the ceiling.

"Well," said the Professor, "there is much more to see. Move along now." She led the dumbstruck ninja out of the Great Hall and took them on their tour of the castle, finally finishing at a portrait of an old man in a cardigan and flowery skirt, reading the newspaper. "One of Albus's favourites," she said, gently touching the frame and wiping away the tear that made its way down her cheek. "Anyway, this will be your dorm room during your stay here. Boys' rooms are up the staircase, to the right; girls', to the left. The password is 'Ramen'—"

"This woman would get along well with Naruto," Shikamaru whispered to Ino who had to quickly stifle the laugh that escaped her lips. Hinata looked up at the sound of Naruto's name and frowned a bit.

"—Your things are already in your rooms. I'll let you rest now. Students are coming tomorrow. If you need anything, simply ask Brian," she said, gesturing to the portrait who waved merrily. "Good evening," she said with a nod to the ninja.

The group assembled watched her walk away.

"Wow," said Neji. Then, turning towards the portrait, "Ramen".

The portrait swung open, revealing a doorway the ninja walked through.

"Woah!" said Kibo, looking around him. "Dang! These wizards know how to live!"

The room was nice. In the back corner, there was a kitchenette, its cupboards filled with instant Ramen and normal baking necessities. The living space in the middle had three large, comfy couches. Sweeping up from the living space were two staircases, leading up to the dorms. After thoroughly inspecting the place, the ninja split up to look around their rooms.

"Oh my!" said Hinata, walking into the girls' dorms. The rooms were decorated in different shades of blue and white.

"Mmmmm… so soft," said Sakura, stretching out on the bed.

"Oh my god…" said Ino, "come here." The three girls walked over to see what the fuss was about. They peered into the next room, shocked.

It was a bathroom rivaling any they'd ever seen. It had a huge, pool-sized tub and lots of knobs for bubbles. There were four separate sinks, each with its own mirror and a spacious shower, stocked with delicious-smelling shampoos and white, fluffy towels.

"I'm in heaven," said Hinata. All four girls laughed and headed back down to the common room to hear about everything the boys' rooms had.

The girls chatted a bit about everything that happened that day, waiting for the boys to come down. They were pleased that Hinata was finally changing for the better, but they knew if he was here, Hinata'd slip right back into her old attitude.

Finally, Shikamaru and Neji appeared, the others following behind.

"What are your rooms like?" asked Ino excitedly.

"Well, they're nice. They're red and black, and it has a nice bathroom," Shikamaru said.

The girls smiled politely, waiting for more details.

"It's just a room," said Shikamaru awkwardly.

The girls laughed, and the guys joined them on the couches (which expanded to fit them all) and talked more about their day.

"Well, we'd better get to bed," Neji said, getting up and nodding at the rest to do the same. "Students come tomorrow evening, and we should familiarize ourselves more with this castle, so we'll be ready for anything that happens."

The rest murmured their good-nights and headed up to their dorms.

**Ok! Hope you liked it! I'm writing the next chapter, too, because it's more related to wizardry than ninja. Xero-Tom may help a bit, too. All who review get an extra big helping of rice pudding or flan! Your choice! Thanks for reading. **

**--GrammarGeek**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from either JKR's or Kishimoto's amazing worlds.**

"Up, up, up!" chimed Mrs. Weasley, prodding her son, Ron, awake.

"Uhh… Mum!" Ron complained, groaning as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Light was already flooding the room. It was surprising the two boys weren't already up and dressed. Well, maybe not.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, stretching before succumbing to the yawn that was about to overtake him.

"Ronald!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, "You're not packed?" She scowled at the clothes strewn across the floor.

Harry and Ron exchanged an embarrassed glance before leaping up to hastily shove the offending articles into their trunks.

Molly shook her head at them.

"Mum! The bangers are burning!" Ginny yelled nonchalantly up the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley sighed and flicked her wand at the remaining clothes on the floor which dutifully folded themselves nicely and placed themselves in their rightful trunks before she trotting down the stairs to save the sausages.

Harry and Ron changed and went downstairs for breakfast. They ate quickly. With a loud pop, Tonks, Kingsley, and Remus appeared. Kingsley walked in and shook her hand.

Tonks walked in, beaming, and reached for Remus' hand. She looked up at Remus. He smiled shyly and nodded at her. Tonks squealed and held out her left hand, her once naked finger adorned with a simple-but-elegant gold ring with a diamond.

Hermione and Ginny reacted at the same time, both jumping on Tonks and squeezing her tightly.

"It's so beautiful!" Hermione gushed, grabbing her hand.

"I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!" said Ginny.

Harry was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and Ron walked over and shook Remus' hand.

"Congratulations, mate," said Ron enthusiastically. Harry just dropped all formalities and pulled Remus into hug.

Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands excitedly and joined Hermione and Ginny in their admiration of Tonks' ring.

Once they had all settled down a bit and Mrs. Weasley had them all eat three servings of everything on the table, Kingsley broached the subject of the visitors at Hogwarts.

"All right. The ninjas arrived yesterday at Hogwarts. No one's allowed to know they're ninjas. They will be called mercenaries who use wandless magic. Hermione, if they need any help, I'm going to have them call on you, all right?"

"Of course"

"Wait, Ninjas use magic?" asked Ron.

"They use something called ninjutsu. It's kind of like wandless magic," Hermione replied shortly. "All right. Mercenaries it is. I'm guessing we're not supposed to know about them and should act surprised?"

"Yes," said Kingsley. He glanced at his watch, "Molly! Look at the time! We've got to get them on the train."

Everyone jumped up, shocked, and hurriedly grabbed their things and shoved them in the car.

Off they drove, swerving in and out of the muggles as they rushed to get to King's Cross. They slipped onto through the platform and onto the train.

"Phew," said Ron, leaning against a window pane on the train, "I was sure we wouldn't make it in time."

"Heh…" Hermione said, catching her breath from their mad dash through the station.

They started walking along the corridor, dragging their heaving trunks behind them, looking for an empty compartment.

They found one with only Neville and Luna in it.

"May we sit here?" Harry asked.

Luna looked up. In a swift, fluid movement, she had her arms around Harry.

"Of course!" she said, turning to the other three and giving them loving hugs before sitting down and crossing her legs, her hands placed lady-like upon her lap. Neville helped them with their trunks, and they all crowded in together.

"How've you been, Luna?" asked Ginny, smiling at her.

"I've had the most wonderful summer in the world. The Quibbler's become very popular since Harry's article with Rita Skeeter. Daddy took me on a trip to Sweden to find crumple-horn snorkacks. We didn't see any, but we got so close once. We ran across one of their nests! It was so exciting.

"Then, of course, I spent a lovely week at the beach in Brighton with Neville," she said happily. Neville grinned and went a bit pink.

Ginny grinned and smirked. She thrust her hand at Hermione. "That'll be 10 sickles," she said.

Luna's tinkling laughter filled the compartment. "Oh I do love bets," she said.

Hermione laughed, "Seeing you so happy is well worth the 10 sickles."

The group fell into a comfortable silence. They wasted the hours away playing gob stones and chatting happily. Soon, the train slowed down, and the group got off the train and into a horseless carriage. After Luna gave the thestral a loving kiss on the muzzle, they headed up the drive to the castle.

----------------------------

Hermione walked in the large wooden doors and smiled contentedly. Hogwarts was her home, and she was glad to be back. She hoped Harry would soften and let her and Ron help find horcruxes once they came back, and he remembered all they had done together, for the side of light.

After giving Neville a peck on the cheek, Luna split off to sit with the Ravenclaws, and the 5 Gryffindors settled at their own table.

Hermione looked up and noticed immediately an extra table seating 10 people. _Those must be the ninja_ she thought, head cocked, looking at them with pure fascination.

"What about you, Hermione?" Ron asked, pulling Hermione out of her reverie.

"Sorry, what?" Hermione asked, looking embarrassed.

"Your favourite dish they serve at Hogwarts," Harry filled in for her.

"Oh. Hmm… probably the Sheppard's pie. The treacle tart is very good, too, though," Hermione said. The others nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the doors opened and all heads turned to face the frightened first years file into the hall to be sorted.

--

"They're puny," Shikamaru said to Shino who shrugged.

"I think they're adorable," Ino said.

"So cute!" Hinata said. The other girls nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the old hat on the stool broke into song.

"Wait, it sings? Does it make any sense to you?" Kiba asked Akamaru quietly. The other ninja just shrugged and watched it in awe.

The ninja watched silently as the first years were sorted into their houses.

"Wait, they get in that easily? No Chuunin exam or anything? They just put on a hat?" Ino cried in outrage. A couple people gave her funny looks. "Sorry…."

After the sorting was over, Professor McGonagall stood in front of the head table. "As some of you have already noticed," she said, "we have guests staying with us at Hogwarts this year. They are mercenaries helping to protect the school, and they use their own form of wandless magic. You are not to get in their way and are to treat them with the utmost respect

"As always, the Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden to all students.

"Argus Filch informs me he has banned new Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products. You may find which are acceptable and which aren't if you stop by his office.

"You may now dig in."

Food suddenly appeared on the plates, and everyone started eating.

Chouji's eyes lit up as he grabbed the serving spoon and mounded food high onto his plate. Tenten looked at him disgustingly and tucked into her own dinner.

--

Hermione watched awkwardly as Ginny was trying to flirt with Harry. She made polite conversation with Neville and tried to ignore Ron's gross eating habits.

She glanced up to see how the ninja were faring and saw that Luna had gone over to greet them. She gave an amused chuckle and turned back to Neville.

--

Sakura turned around, startled, to stare at the girl who tapped on her shoulder.

"Hello. I'm Luna Lovegood. What's your name? You have the most beautiful hair," she said, reaching out as if to touch it but stopping short and dropping her hand. She looked at her intently.

"Sakura. My name's Sakura," she said politely.

She cocked her head at the group. "Ooh! Ninjas! I've always wanted to meet ninjas. Wow…"

Rock Lee stood up and thrust his hand jovially at Luna. "YOSH! It's great to meet people with the springtime of youth interested in ninjas," he said happily. The other ninjas jumped on him and slammed his mouth shut.

"You imbecile. They're not supposed to know we're ninjas," Neji whispered furiously through clenched teeth.

"Ninjas?" asked Ino asked incredulously, trying to cover up. She laughed nervously. "OK, listen. If that's a compliment, thanks… but we're just mercenaries."

The others smiled sadly at her.

"Oh! It's a secret! OK, that's fine. Well, it was nice meeting you!" Luna said in a sing-song voice. She waved merrily and traipsed away.

--

Dinner ended and everyone walked up the stairs to his or her bed.

Professor McGonagall pulled Hermione into an empty class room. "A word, if you would."

"Of course!" Hermione said, waving for her friends to go on.

"I've told our guests about you, Miss Granger, and that you would be visiting them this evening in their rooms. You know the picture of the cross dresser? On the stairwell up to the Astronomy tower?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yeah, yeah."

"The password is 'Ramen'. They're expecting you this evening, so you can head up there now. I trust you'll help them feel at home."

"Yes, of course," said Hermione, "I'll run up right now and do that." She gave a nod to Professor McGonagall and trotted up the stairs.

--

"I don't know. A girl with the password will show up. Professor McGonagall says she's nice, so –" Neji stopped and looked up at the girl who appeared in the doorway.

"Hi. I'm Hermione. I know you're all ninjas. I'm the one who figured out the clue, and yeah. Thanks for coming, I guess. Do you mind if I…?" she gestured towards the couch.

"Oh, no! Come in!" Ino said.

"Thanks. So your names are…?"

"I'm Shikamaru. That's Hinata, Ino, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, and Rock Lee," Shikamaru said, pointing to everyone.

"Nice to meet you all," said Hermione. "OK, you all understand what your mission is? Yes? Hogwarts is already pretty well protected, so you probably won't have to worry about fighting much."

Hermione passed around a basket of coins. "OK, these are coins that look like real wizarding money. If you ever have a question to ask or need a bit of help in any way, focus a bit of your chakra into your thumb and forefinger and picture me or say my name. My coin will alert me when you're calling me and bring me to you."

"Very cool…" said Rock Lee, holding the coin in his hand.

"Well, I've got to go to bed now. Nice meeting you all! Remember, don't hesitate to call me if you need anything! Good night!" she called as she left the room.

--

Hermione made her way back to the portrait hole and climbed into the room. Harry and Ron were there, waiting for her.

"Hey. Where'd you go?" Ron asked.

Hermione glanced around to make sure nobody was listening and leaned in to say, "Professor McGonagall just had me check in with the guests."

Harry shrugged, "Well, that's fine. I'm headed up to bed."

Ron didn't look like this was OK. He frowned. Then, yawning, "I'll go to bed, too." He gave Hermione a quick peck on the cheek and went up the stairs. Hermione looked after him, shocked. Since when did Ron become so straight forward?

Ginny got up and walked over to Hermione, "So…" she said, looking at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, because seeing three seconds of somebody lets you know if you like them or not," Hermione said sarcastically. The two girls laughed. "How are things with Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"He's so aloof these days. I can tell he still wants to be with me, but he's just not acting upon it."

Hermione nodded her head sympathetically. The two girls fell silent, looking around the empty common room.

"All right. I'm going to bed," said Ginny.

"Good luck with Harry!" Hermione called jokingly.

"Thanks," Ginny said sarcastically over her shoulder.

Hermione went upstairs to grab a book about the four Hogwarts founders and started reading. She didn't care what Harry said. She was going to help find the horcruxes.

**Well, I did cut the end because—after all this time—I wanted something different to happen with the story. I'll try very hard and get an update soon; sorry it's taken so long! I'll see if I can't get Xero-Tom to write one, too. We'll try to start this up again.**


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